The Massed Bands of the Royal Marines Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade - What is all that about?

by Marcher

The 1964 Tercentenary Beating Retreat. The Massed Corps of Drums are reforming, possibly during the playing of British Grenadiers

Whilst the emphasis of this article will be upon the modern day massed bands performances on Horse Guards Parade it is necessary to put this musical and ceremonial tradition into context. What is a ceremonial tradition? Is it merely ‘something that we have always done’ or perhaps an especially designed spectacle? ‘Beating Retreat’ is neither. It is a piece of living history with a purpose at its core. Its origin is not lost in the past although it has certainly been altered and modified – particularly during the 20th century. The modern ceremony contains two important traditions and without their inclusion, in a traditional manner, the modern ceremony cannot be called Beating Retreat. The first tradition is the drum beatings at the heart of the display, the ‘Retreat Beatings’. The second is the bugle call ‘Sunset’ sounded during the finale. Beating Retreat has been the Drummers’, now Buglers’, ceremony for about two hundred and fifty years, whilst the bands were included to provide the ‘especially designed spectacle’ only during the 20th century.
The purpose of this article is to look at some of the music played during ceremonies of Massed Bands Beating Retreats on Horse Guards Parade and we need to start at the very heart of the ceremony – the Retreat Beatings and the sounding of Sunset.

The Beating of Retreat

Whilst references to this duty can be found as far back as 1554 the best description is probably the one given in ‘An Universal Military Dictionary’ of 1779. (It must also be remembered that Beating Retreat is a military, not naval, ceremony).‘Retreat is a beat of drums, at the firing of the evening gun; at which the Drum-Major, with all the drums of the battalion except such as are upon duty, beats from the camp colours on the right to those on the left, on the parade of encampment; the drums of all the guard beat also; the trumpets at the same time sounding at the head of their respective troops. This is to warn the soldiers to forbear firing, and the sentinels to challenge till break of day, [when] the Reveille is beat. The retreat is likewise called setting the watch’. At the time this was written, all music was provided by the Drummers, who also played fifes, and were massed as the Drum and Fife Band and led by the Drum Major – a role later taken, in the Royal Marines, by the Bugle Major. So, the Drummers were not only the signallers but also the musicians of the day and developed the Beating Retreat into quite a spectacle. A similar story can be told about that other necessary component, ‘Sunset’. Both are heard at the time that the sun sets.

The Sunset Call

It is well known that the current setting of the Sunset call is by Capt A C Green who retired in 1943 from the RNSM on the Isle of Man. During the early 1960s Green wrote, in a private letter, ‘Sunset – an original composition… with an introduction and two fanfares; a military band accompaniment to the Bugle call. First performance 7th December 1932, Palace Square, Malta, by the Massed Bands and Bugles of the Mediterranean Fleet. It was composed aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in response to the late Admiral Sir M Worsworth Fisher’s expressed desire for a ‘spectacular show that is different’. The date is also noteworthy for being the first time that the massed Bands and Bugles of the Royal Marines performed the ceremony of Beating Retreat as we know it today. The ceremony was performed many times during the years 1932-35 by the massed RM Bands of the Fleet in the Mediterranean countries and at Gibraltar. It was first performed at Deal in July 1938, by the Band Boys of the Royal Naval School of Music. As far as I can recall, (going back to 1904) the custom was carried out by Bugles, fifes and drums only. Massed Bands took part in Torchlight Tattoos which consisted primarily of gymnastic displays and figure marching by massed bands’

Again we see how a traditional duty of the Drummers and Buglers has become part of a structured ceremony. In this case, unlike the Beating of Retreat, we have the Royal Marines conducting a naval, not military, ceremony. The military equivalent would use the title ‘Retreat Call’ instead of ‘Sunset Call’.

The Display

The Massed Bands rehearse in Deal for the 1960 Beating Retreat. The officer on the right is believed to be Captain W Lang, the originator of the Massed Bands display

After the Second World War, and the tremendous loss of life suffered by the Royal Marine Bands of the Royal Naval School of Music, a Service of Dedication took place at the home of the School, Burford. The Silver Memorial Trumpets, having been dedicated as the Official World War II Memorial, were handed to fourteen musicians who played, probably for the first time in public, the Band Service’s own fanfare, To Comrades Sleeping. Following the Service the massed bands of the Royal Naval School of Music gave a display designed and planned by Lt Lang, the Assistant Musical Director of the RNSM. An introductory fanfare began the display and then four bands marched on and gave a display of marching and countermarching, forming and re-forming, the like of which had never been seen before. The display was repeated at the 1948 Royal Tournament and then, with suitable adaptation by Lt Lang, it was used when the Band of the Royal Naval School of Music, together with the Bands of the Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth Groups of the Royal Marines, marched on to Beat Retreat on Horse Guards Parade in 1950. This display has formed the basis for the event ever since. However the music, first selected by Major F V Dunn for the 1950 ceremony, has changed over the years.

Originally the programme consisted of two musical phases, one on either side of the Ceremony of Beating Retreat, and a finale and a march off but in 1964 – the year of the Tercentenary of the Royal Marines – Lt Col F Vivian Dunn, perhaps recognising the importance of the ceremonial aspect and wishing to prevent it being subsumed by the musical content, added an introductory phase to the programme and extended the Beating Retreat ceremony itself. These additions reflected the traditional duties of the Corps of Drums, reinforcing the fact that Beating Retreat is their ceremony. The demarcation between the massed bands displays and the ceremonial of the Corps of Drums was very clear until 1978 when a slow march was inserted after beatings at the halt and before drums and band played British Grenadiers. This blurring of the edges between band display and drums ceremonial continues and today’s average watcher probably sees no difference between Beating Retreat and, for instance, the march sequence at a Mountbatten Festival of Music. Whilst it can be argued that the Beating Retreat part of the original 1950 ceremony was much shorter, it can also be countered by the fact that so were the massed band musical sections – which comprised only quick and slow marches, allowing the bands to Troop, and patriotic music.

The Corps of Drums with the Corps Bugle Major march on at the very beginning of the ceremony to beat 'Drummers Call' and to sound 'Band Call' and 'Fall In'

The Fanfare Trumpeters – Caps or Helmets?

In the opening paragraph I asked ‘What is tradition?’ and highlighted the fact that whilst ‘Retreat Beating’ and the ’Sunset Call’ are traditional, the playing of the massed bands are not although, as time goes by, it will become so. Traditions cannot be immediately created by a personal, or corporate whim, or can they? Traditionally the massed bands of the Royal Marines wear ceremonial uniform, including the white helmet, when on parade. However, the War Memorial Charter covering the original Memorial Trumpets of the Royal Naval School of Music stipulated that caps would be worn when playing these instruments. So, from the time of the Dedication at Burford, caps were worn by the Fanfare Trumpeters.

In his book, ‘The Royal Marines Band Service’, John Ambler tells the official story of how the change from cap to ‘Helmet WP’ for fanfare team wear came about. I have heard, from one of Earl Mountbatten’s ADCs, a slightly different version of this story. Prior to the 1970 Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade, Earl Mountbatten mentioned to his ADC that he was going to ask the Commandant General why the Fanfare Team wore caps. The ADC understood that he was expected to make the CG aware of this question - which he duly did. On the way to the ceremony Mountbatten asked if his ADC had warned the CG and the ADC confirmed that he had. This was the evening when Mountbatten himself took the salute and afterwards, to the surprise of the ADC and the CG, he never mentioned the subject. However, at the Reception the following night (after Prince Philip had taken the salute) the Queen, with a smiling Earl Mountbatten standing behind her, asked CGRM why the Fanfare Team wore caps and not helmets! When CGRM explained that it had always been considered that playing the instruments with helmets was very difficult, she suggested, “I am sure the Royal Marines can overcome this problem”. As a result the Commandant, RMSM, was instructed to investigate the matter bearing in mind the constraints imposed by the War Memorial Charter. This was not necessary since, in 1965, instruments that were not War Memorials had replaced the Memorial Trumpets of the Royal Naval School of Music. (In 1973 the War Memorials were permanently laid up in the Royal Marines Museum).

Trials were undertaken at Deal, official photographs were taken for comparison and, as a result, it was considered practical for the Helmet WP to be worn by those playing the fanfare trumpets. CGRM then wrote to Earl Mountbatten informing him of the situation and asking him to solicit the thoughts of the Captain General. As a result of Prince Philip’s agreement, which Mountbatten reported as being ‘At last! Thank God! I have been trying to get the Royal Marines to do that for years’, an instruction was issued which stipulated that fanfare trumpeters should wear the helmet when paraded with a band wearing similar head-dress, on all other occasions they should wear caps.

At the first meeting of the Beat Retreat 1973 Committee it was minuted that: ‘After BR70,[the 1970 Beating Retreat] when trumpeters wore caps, Her Majesty expressed a wish that when parading with a band in helmets the trumpeters should conform to the dress of the band. A directive to this effect was issued by CGRM (RM 6/6/19 dated 29 April 1971) and trumpeters will wear helmets for BR 73.’

A Musical Gem

But to return to the music. Full details of all of the musical programmes are now available on the Blue Band website. A study of these programmes does show both developmental changes and also personal preferences in style. Comparison also shows a little gem of a piece of music that appeared in the 1970 Beat Retreat. This was the first of four Horse Guards ceremonies under the baton of Lt Col Paul Neville and the opening piece of the finale section is written by Dr Gordon Jacob and is simply called ‘Ceremonial Music’.

The 1970 Ceremony Lt Col Paul Neville conducts the finale

Dr Jacob had studied under such notables as Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Herbert Howells, Vaughan Williams and Sir Adrian Boult at the Royal College of Music. During World War I he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery and, in 1916, as one of only sixty survivors from a unit of 800, was taken prisoner. During his time in the prison camp he ran a small orchestra. After the war, and following brief spells teaching at various colleges, he returned to the RCM where he lectured for forty years. His pupils included Malcolm Arnold, Imogen Holst and Joseph Horovitz. In 1928 he wrote ‘An Original Suite’. The title was chosen because, whilst most music for military band was arranged for it, Gordon Jacob had written an ‘original’ work for military band. He provided music for the 1951 Festival of Britain and arranged the National Anthem with added Fanfare for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. During his Sabbatical Year of 1967/8 Colonel Neville studied with both Sir Malcolm Sargent and Doctor Gordon Jacob. In February 1970, following an invitation from Lt Col Paul Neville, he wrote ‘Ceremonial Music’ for military band and fanfare group especially for the Royal Marines to play on Horse Guards Parade in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh’s birthday. The score bears, in Gordon Jacob's hand, the title and the dedication ‘To Major Paul Neville MVO RM and the Bandsmen of the Royal Marines’. It was first performed on the 9th June 1970. Shortly after, Dr Jacob wrote to Paul Neville,
‘To the Massed Bands of the Royal Marine Corps, I wish to express my great admiration of the skill and precision of your performance on June 10th at the Beating of Retreat on Horse Guards Parade in honour of HRH Prince Philip’s birthday. I felt greatly honoured at being represented in the programme. Your playing of my ‘Ceremonial Music’ was beyond all praise. Thank you very much. Gordon Jacob’

There is a footnote to the story of Ceremonial Music. A few years later Dr Jacob was invited to compose an overture for band to mark the Centenary of the Alexandra Palace, the home of BBC broadcasting for many years, in 1973. He called the overture ‘Ally Pally’ and arranged for Lt Col Neville and the Band of HM Royal Marines School of Music to play it for the first time. A compliment returned.